Lasting machine



1965 E. BROUGHTON ETAL 3,

LASTING MACHINE Filed July 11, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 C f D o 12 0 If 8,J41 30 o 4 4 0 Inven mm" Ernest Broughzon Stuart R. Bums By theirAttorney 1965 E. BROUGHTON ETAL 3,222,703

LASTING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 11, 1963 km I I IN I I J: Ra b a I, Q C

| l I l l l llllllllllill I|I||||I Dec. 14, 1965 E. BROUGHTON ETAL3,222,703

LASTING MACHINE Filed July 11, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United StatesPatent 3,222,703 LASTING MACHINE Ernest Broughton and Stuart R. Burns,Leicester, England,

assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N.J., acorporation of New Jersey Filed July 11, 1963, Ser. No. 294,377

Claims priority, application Great Britain, July 20, 1962, 27 ,931/ 62 3Claims. (Cl. 12-12) This invention relates generally to shoe upperforming machines such as that disclosed in an United States LettersPatent, No. 3,099,846, granted August 6, 1963 in the names of Lane eta1. More particularly the invention is directed to improvements in meansfor lasting the ball regions of a shoe.

The machine disclosed in said patent is adapted to perform a pullingover and lasting operation in the toe, forepart and ball regions of ashoe. To this end the machine is provided with a plurality of grippersarranged to pull an upper about the toe and forepart of a last uponwhich the upper is assembled and with wipers adapted to wipe the pulledupper inwardly over the forepart of an insole for attachment thereto,The machine is further provided with a pair of lasting units arranged tooperate at opposite sides of the shoe at the ball portion.

The ball lasting units each include ball wipers which move inwardly towipe the upper over the ball regions of the shoe before the forepart ofthe upper is lasted. To avoid the formation of wrinkles in the uppertoeward of the ball line the forepart wipers are elongated and theheelward ends are adapted to overlap the portions of the shoe operatedupon by the ball wipers. So that the ball wipers will not interfere withthe operation of the forepart wipers they are arranged to be yieldableheightwise so as to be displaced by the forepart wipers during theirheightwise and inward movements. While the above machine generallyperforms satisfactorily, its operation on a shoe is subject toimprovement where the forepart wipers overlap the ball Wipers in orderto effect a smoother shoe bottom.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide improvementsto the ball wiping mechanism which insures a moreefiicient and moreeffective wiping action on the upper where it is operated upon by boththe forepart wipers and the ball wipers. To this end each ball wiper hasassociated therewith a thin resilient plate which overlies a substantialpart of the inner operative portion of the ball wiper. The plate isspaced heightwise from its associated ball wiper and is arranged to bepressed by the wiper against the upper as it is moved inwardly over theball portion of the last bottom. The plate also is recessed sufficientlyat its toeward side so that the heelward ends of the forepart wipersduring their heightwise movement engage only the ball wipers. Duringtheir in ward movement the forepart wipers pass between the ball wipersand their associated plates to maintain the plates pressed against theupper while displacing the ball wipers heightwise. In this fashion theplates continually engage and maintain control of the inwiped upperpreventing for mation of wrinkles.

The above and other features of the invention together with novelcombinations and details of construction will now be described withparticular reference to the drawings and thereafter particularly pointedout in the ap' pended claims.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the machine as shown in the above-mentionedpatent and includes the improved ball wiping mechanism of the presentinvention;

FIG, 2 is a section through one of the ball wiping units substantiallyon line IIII of FIG. 1;

3,222,703 Patented Dec. 14, 1965 FIG. 3 is a plan view of one of theball wipers;

FIG. 4 is a section on line IVIV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a section similar to FIG. 4 showing a modi fied form of thewiper; and,

FIG. 6 is a view of the modified ball wiper illustrated in FIG. 5,showing the relative positions of the forepart wiper and the ball wiperduring operation on a shoe.

The illustrative machine embodying the present invention is a shoe upperconforming machine suitable for use in performing a combined pullingover and lasting operation on the toe, forepart and joint regions of ashoe (i.e. including regions also commonly known as the ball regionswhere the shoe bottom curves heightwise from the generally fiat portionof the forepart into the shank portion). The machine is generallysimilar to that shown in said patent to which reference may be had for amore detailed description of machine functions not fully treated herein.

For supporting the forepart of a last having an insole positionedagainst the bottom thereof and an upper mounted thereon the illustrativemachine has supporting means 2 (FIG. 1). For exerting a tensioningaction on the upper the illustrative machine is provided with aplurality of forepart grippers 4, 6 and 8 and a pair of ball grippers10, the grippers being disposed around the shoesupporting means in themanner shown in FIG. 1. The upper is tensioned as a result of relativemovement, heightwise of the last, taking place between the grippers andthe shoe-supporting means 2 in a manner fully explained in said patent.For wiping the marginal portions of the upper at the toe and forepartinwardly across the edge of the insole the illustrative machine isprovided with a pair of toe-embracing wipers 12 mounted in a wiper box14. For wiping marginal portions of the upper inwardly of the edge ofthe insole in the ball region of the shoe, the illustrative machine isprovided with a pair of ball wipers 16 on each side of the machine, theball wipers being mounted as hereinafter described on a pair of balllasting units 20. These units are each provided with a pair of sideclamps 22 and 24 (FIG. 2) for engaging the upper in the ball region justprior to the release of the upper by the ball grippers 10 so as tomaintain tension in these portions of the upper as the ball wipers takeover control of the upper from the ball grippers. For supporting thelast with the shoe upper thereon against the heelward thrust of thetoe-embracing wipers as they Wipe the upper inwardly, the illustrativemachine is provided with a heel support 28. The machine is also providedwith a toe pad 30 which is arranged to engage the upper with arelatively light pressure before the toe-embracing wipers perform theirinwiping operation and then to press more firmly on the upper to assistthe wipers in bedding the upper firmly on the insole.

Each of the ball lasting units 20 is secured to a bracket 32 mounted onthe machine frame and is adjustable in a plurality of directions forpositioning the units relative to the ball regions of a variety of shoein a manner fully described in said patent. A main casting 34 (FIG. 2)of each unit 20 provides a hollow housing having adjustably secured toit by means of a flange 35 a piston rod 36 on which is slidably mounteda cylinder block 38. By introducing a fluid such as air from a pipe 40through a passage 42 in the piston rod, the block 38 i caused to movetoward a shoe in the machine until the side clamps 22, 24 engage theside of the shoe at the ball region. Thereafter, in time-d relation, airis admitted from a pipe 44 and passage 46 into a cylinder 48 formed inthe block 38 causing a piston 50 to be moved relative to the blocktoward the shoe. This piston at its right end is provided with dependingears 52 carrying a pin 54 on which is pivoted a block 56 carrying thewiper 16. A spring 58 acts on the block to maintain the wiper in apredetermined heightwise position as determined by a stop screw 60 whilepermitting the wiper to yield downward. Up to this point the ball Wipingmechanism described is substantially similar to that illustrated in saidpatent.

The present ball wiper 16 comprising the present invention includes asubstantially rigid plate 62 which is secured to the block 56 by meansof a screw 64 extending through the block and a hole 66 (FIG. 3) in theplate and into a threaded block 68. The inner edge of the wiper plate 62is enlarged at 70 (FIG. 4) and beveled at 72 to provide the operativewiping in portion of the wiper. A resilient spring plate 74 as seen inFIG. 3 has a free end 75 overlying a substantial part of the operativeportion of the wiper plate 62 and i secured remote from the free endbetween the plate 62 and the block 68. In the arrangement shown in FIGS.2 to 4, the inner free end 75 of the plate 74 is bent downwardly overthe beveled operative portion 72 of the plate 62. The plate 62 isrecessed at 76 so the spring plate 74 is spaced slightly above the plate62.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a modified arrangement in which the free end 75' ofthe spring plate 74 does not overlie the beveled portion 72 of the wiperplate but terminates outwardly of this portion and is received withinthe modified recess 76 so as to be flush with the operative wiping faceof the wiper plate 62 as it wipes the upper inwardly over the shoebottom.

In the operation of the machine the ball lasting units 20 operate afterthe upper is tensioned by the grippers 4, 6, 8 and 10 to wipe the upperinwardly over the ball regions at opposite sides of the shoe.Thereafter, the forepart wipers 12 are moved heelwardly until theysubstantially overlie the outline of the forepart of the last. At thistime the heelward ends of the forepart wipers 12 overlie a part of theball wiper plates 62 as seen in phantom in FIG. 3. During theirheightwise wiping movements, the forepart wipers are moved intoengagement with the recessed portions 76 of the ball wiper plates 62,the spring plates 74 being cut away at 78 to clear the forepart Wipersat this time. The heelwaird ends of the forepart wipers then aresubstantially aligned with the spaces between the ball wiper plates 62and the spring plates 74. As the forepart wipers move inwardly, theypass between the wiper plates 62 and the spring plates 74 or 74 and holdthe spring plates pressed against the upper while depressing the wiperplates 62 out of the path of their inwiping movements as illustrated inFIG. 6. In this manner, the spring plates 74, or 74 continually engagethe ball regions of the upper preventing formation of wrinkles andeffect a smooth shOe bottom at the juncture between the ball regions andthe forepart of the shoe.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for shaping uppers over lasts, ball wipers mounted inthe machine to engage opposite marginal portions of the upper at theball line, means for moving the ball wipers inwardly widthwise of thelast while yieldably pressing the ball wiper toward the last bottom forwiping the u per over the ball region of the last, forepart wipersmovable heighwise of the last into engagement with exposed surfaces ofthe ball wipers after widthwise movement of the ball wipers, theforepart wipers thereafter being movable widthwise between the ballwipers and the upper previously wiped by the ball wipers, and thinresilient plate each having an inner operative end overlying anassociated ball wiper and being pressed thereby against the upper, theplate adjacent the exposed surface of the ball wiper forming an openingtherewith through which the forepart wiper passes during its inwardmovements whereby the plates are held pressed against the upper by theforepart wiper while the ball wipers are displaced away from the lastbottom.

2. A machine as described in claim 1 in which said plates overlie asubstantial part of an operative portion of the associated ball wipersand are recessed to permit the heelward ends of the forepart wipersduring their heightwise movement to engage only the ball wipers, saidplates also being spaced heightwise from their associated ball wipers toprovide said opening for passage of the forepart wipers during theirinward wiping movements.

3. A machine as described in claim 1 in which each ball wiper isprovided with a recess which receives the inner operative end of itsassociated plate while the upper is wiped over the ball portion of thelast bottom during the inward wiping movement of the ball wiper.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,665,436 1/1954Jorgensen 12l().1 2,739,323 3/1956 Jorgensen 12--12 2;778,039 1/1957Hubbard 1212 3,099,846 8/1963 Lane et al 1210.1

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

1. IN A MACHINE FOR SHAPING UPPERS OVER LASTS, BALL WIPERS MOUNTED INTHE MACHINE TO ENGAGE OPPOISTE MARGINAL PORTIONS OF THE UPPER AT THEBALL LINE, MEANS FOR MOVING THE BALL WIPERS INWARDLY WIDTHWISE OF THELAST WHILE YIELDABLY PRESSING THE BALL WIPERS TOWARD THE LAST BOTTOM FORWIPING THE UPPER OVER THE BALL REGION OF THE LAST, FOREPART WIPERSMOVABLE HEIGHTWISE OF THE LAST INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH EXPOSED SURFACES OFTHE BALL WIPERS AFTER WIDTHWISE MOVEMENT OF THE BALL WIPERS, THEFOREPART WIPERS THEREAFTER BEING MOVABLE WIDTHWISE BETWEEN THE BALLWIPERS AND UPPER PREVIOUSLY WIPED BY THE BALL WIPERS, AND THIN RESILIENTPLATES EACH HAVING AN INNER OPERATIVE END OVERLYING AN ASSOCIATED BALLWIPER AND BEING PRESSED THEREBY AGAINST THE UPPER, THE PLATE ADJACENTTHE EXPOSED SURFACE OF THE BALL WIPER FORMING AN OPENING THEREWITHTHROUGH WHICH THE FOREPART WIPER PASSES DURING ITS INWARD MOVEMENTSWHEREBY THE PLATES ARE HELD PRESSED AGAINST THE UPPER BY THE FOREPARTWIPERS WHILE THE BALL WIPERS ARE DISPLACED AWAY FROM THE LAST BOTTOM.